Andina Capital Management LLC Acquires New Stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

Andina Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 351 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $347,000.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of GWW. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 100,843.0% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 692,469 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $684,042,000 after acquiring an additional 691,783 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in W.W. Grainger during the 1st quarter valued at $285,574,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 14.2% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 681,912 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $718,769,000 after acquiring an additional 84,595 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 10.1% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 822,411 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $812,403,000 after acquiring an additional 75,644 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,388,378 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,322,801,000 after acquiring an additional 57,690 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,215.00 to $1,160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 11th. Loop Capital decreased their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,000.00 to $950.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,100.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,176.00 to $1,007.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1,080.38.

W.W. Grainger Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of NYSE GWW opened at $978.76 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $46.82 billion, a PE ratio of 24.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a quick ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 2.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a twelve month low of $893.99 and a twelve month high of $1,227.66. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $1,023.91 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $1,021.41.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.97 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $10.07 by ($0.10). The company had revenue of $4.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.52 billion. W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 49.63% and a net margin of 10.99%. The company’s revenue was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $9.76 earnings per share. Analysts expect that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 11th will be given a $2.26 dividend. This represents a $9.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 11th. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is presently 22.94%.

Insider Activity at W.W. Grainger

In other news, VP Krantz Nancy L. Berardinelli sold 280 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,075.20, for a total value of $301,056.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 3,369 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,622,348.80. The trade was a 7.67% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 6.10% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Profile

W.W. Grainger, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, distributes maintenance, repair, and operating products and services primarily in North America, Japan, the United Kingdom, and internationally. The company operates through two segments, High-Touch Solutions N.A. and Endless Assortment. The company provides safety, security, material handling and storage equipment, pumps and plumbing equipment, cleaning and maintenance, and metalworking and hand tools.